Hundreds of high school students in Fox Lake and Huntley walked out of class on Thursday and Friday to protest federal immigration enforcement and the Trump administration.
A line of Grant Community High School students walked westbound along Grand Avenue and to Route 12 before turning around and walking back to the high school Thursday morning into the afternoon.
Students waved flags and held signs like “No One Is Illegal On Stolen Land,” “Abolish ICE,” “Chinga La Migra” (Spanish for “F–k ICE”), “Justice For Alex Pretti,” and “ICE Out Now.”
A witness reported there were at least a few hundred students.
The Fox Lake Police Department monitored the walkout for its entire duration to ensure the safety of the students and the community, Fox Lake Police Sergeant Rick Howell said.
“Officers were strategically deployed on bicycles, on foot, and in marked patrol vehicles to provide a visible presence and support students as they exercised their First Amendment rights in a lawful manner,” Howell said.
“Throughout the event, students conducted themselves respectfully and maintained open communication with officers. As a result, the protest proceeded peacefully and without disruption to local businesses or residential areas,” Howell added.
One student even had a sign that said, “VETO the CHEETO,” referring to U.S. President Donald Trump.
A witness reported there was at least one counter-protester who drove by the students multiple times with flags on his truck supporting Trump, but there was no further incident.
Grant Community High School District 124 Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Schmidt said, “As an educational institution, Grant Community High School acknowledges students’ rights to express their views through civic action.”
“However, today’s student-led walkout was a non-school-sponsored event and was not supported as part of the formal instructional day,” Schmidt added.
The superintendent said that the school’s priority was the “safety of all students and maintaining a secure, orderly learning environment.”
School officials focused on monitoring students while they were on school property, while Fox Lake police officers monitored students who were off of school property.
Schmidt said that school operations and instruction continued as normal.
“We continue to remind our students that being part of a diverse community means encountering a variety of opinions. We expect all students to uphold our core values of Keeping it RED: Respectful, Engaged, and Dependable, regardless of personal perspectives on any given issue,” Schmidt said.
The students who walked out were marked absent and disciplined according to the school’s student handbook.
In McHenry County, a line of Huntley High School students walked out on Friday morning, also to protest ICE.
The students walked down Main Street all the way to downtown Huntley, with police providing traffic control.
“Please use caution on Main St between Hammer and Downtown. A large group of protesters has left the High School headed toward the downtown area. Please watch for pedestrians and use caution if driving in the area,” the Huntley Police Department said on Facebook.
Video on social media shows students waving Mexican flags, holding up anti-ICE signs and yelling “ICE OUT!”
Lake & McHenry County Scanner has reached out to Huntley Community School District 158 for additional information and comment regarding Friday’s walkout.